1,1′-Dimethyl-4,4′-[(2,4-diphenyl­cyclo­butane-1,3-di­yl)dipyridinium–(E)-1-methyl-4-styrylpyridinium–benzene­sulfonate (0.15/1.70/2)

In the title compound, 1.70C(14)H(14)N(+)·0.15C(28)H(28)N(2) (2+)·2C(6)H(5)O(3)S(-), the monocation exists in the E configuration with respect to the ethenyl C=C double bond and is close to planar, the dihedral angle between the pyridinium and phenyl ring being 5.20 (13)°. The dication lies about an inversion centre. In the crystal, the dication occupies almost the same site occupied by monocations at (x, y, z) and (2 - x, 1 - y, 1 - z). The O atoms of the anion are disordered over two positions with occupancies of 0.75 and 0.25. In the crystal, the cations are stacked in an anti-parallel manner along the a axis, whereas the anions are linked into chains along the same direction by C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds. In addition, C-H⋯π and π-π inter-actions [centroid-centroid distance = 3.593 (9) or 3.6705 (16) Å] are observed.